A Memoir From the Trenches

Eight Things About My Marriage

I stopped playing these a while ago, but since Michelle tagged me, and I love Michelle’s blog, I have decided to be a good sport. That, and I really have nothing exciting to write about now. My days are full of the late summer-ness and Abby had a stomach bug over the weekend. You all really don’t want to read another post about barf, I’m willing to bet. The only tidbit I’ll share is that last night, I spent about an hour picking blueberries out of the washing machine. It was blueberry barf. Enough said. On to the meme…

Where did you meet your husband? Well, I’ve posted the entire story, but for any newbies who have better things to do than keep up with my life, we met at a pizza parlor. It was my first job, I was 17, and he was a friend of a guy I was then dating. It was love at first sight, and I’ll spare you the 411. You can relish and glory in the stupidity that was me if you have an hour to kill. Check here, here, here and here.

What was the first thing you said to him? “Him? People are scared of you? Why? Look at his eyes!” My then boyfriend had introduced him by stating how indimidating he was; DH’s a really big guy, and often folks give him a wide berth- but never once did I see that in him- even on first meeting. I just saw an amazing man that I immediatly felt connected to.

Where was your first date? Kiss? Well, we never really “dated” in any official capacity. He was my best friend. We were always together. The first real thing I remember doing together was spending New Year’s Eve hanging at a park we both played at as kids, and buring a pink candle that got all melty in the wind. Our very first kiss was after his third proposal when I finally got it and said YES.

Did you have a long or a short courtship? Well, he waited ten years and three proposals for me to say yes, so I think he gets some sort of Purple Heart for perseverence.

Where did you get engaged? In my kitchen. We had been out to dinner, and we hanging out with my cousin Michael, and I made some joke about liking bald men- and he said “Sheesh, is that all it’ll take?” and he told me to cut his (long) hair all off. I did. Shaved him bald right there in my kitchen. My cousin and I were leaning against the counter, and I stage-whispered to him “What am I going to do?” and he said, putting his hand on my back and giving a gentle nudge: “You’re going to marry that man”. So I went and kissed him for the very first time, and said Yes. By the way, Michael was our best man at our wedding.

Where did you get married? At a local park in northern California. We went pretty low-key, had our ceremony and reception at the same place, and loved it. Looking back, we both still think of it as that happiest day of our lives. Hands down.

How did the reception go? It was a great party. Relaxing and fun for just about everyone- I think.

How was the honeymoon? Short. We only had a few days off, and we were pretty poor at the time. We went to Yosemite, and stayed in my folks’ lake house just outside the Park. We spent the time hiking and I have a special place in my heart for Yosemite, and Vernal Falls, in particular. We hiked all the way to the top, and it was one of those hikes that take all day, and by the time you get back, your legs are quaking and you think you might fall. But we did it, and someday I want to take the kids there, so they can see it for themselves. We have a big black and white Ansel Adams print of Vernal Falls framed in our dining room. (Those are people up top of the waterfall, to give you a sense of scale.)

I loved reading your cute story… sounds like you’ve got one heck of a husband…I’ve gotta say, it’s good to find a mormon mom with a less than perfect past (but still, a bright future). Sometimes I think I’m the only one here in Utah. I love your blog too…

Thanks, Becky. Oh, I am so far from perfect! And my husband is the perfect man- at least for me. I suppose the good thing is I know how lucky I am- if I had married him right away, I wonder if I would appreciate him as much as I do? Hmmmm….